A Rallying Cry

"Are all of you here trash?"

The spacious and luxurious Great Hall fell silent, with only the enormous sound of Sean being under a spell echoing through it.

On the side of the dueling platform, the faces of several professors stiffened, Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw, almost stumbled.

Offstage, almost all the students were stunned and didn't react for a moment. They even looked at Sean with some confusion in their eyes.

Is this still the same gentle, friendly, and generous Sean Wallerup we know and love?

Did he make a slip of the tongue?

However, before they could come up with an excuse for the handsome young man on the dueling stage, Sean added fuel to the fire.

"Sigh... it's hopeless..." He sighed dramatically, but his next words enraged all the Hogwarts students.

"I called you trash, and you just admit it?"

The Great Hall erupted in chaos, filled with a cacophony of angry shouts.

"Wallerup, do you know what you're saying?!"

"A second-year wizard, do you think you're Dumbledore?"

"Haughty Gaze, Sean, I'm so disappointed in you!"

The noise continued, and the students below looked angrily at Sean, who was smiling above them. For the first time, they felt that he was so hateful—especially since, just a minute ago, most of them thought that Sean Wallerup was a friend worth having.

"Arrogant, Pride, unreasonable, and ill-mannered!" someone angrily concluded.

Sean maintained his good posture and impeccable elegant smile. He looked at the person and explained softly, "Senior, I must say—arrogance is a mentality that is only discovered in retrospect, and its existence can only be confirmed after punishment."

He explained the terms casually, but some hot-tempered students couldn't hold back any longer.

So you think you're not arrogant enough? Several older students blushed and even pulled out their wands.

"You're right, Wallerup, you definitely need to be punished!"

Aside from Sean's friends, everyone else in the audience became agitated.

Ron glanced at his angry classmates and whispered to Harry and Neville, "Has Sean gone mad? Or is there something wrong with that disappearance incident?"

He gestured to indicate the position of his head.

Harry gave him a disapproving look. "What did Sean say wrong? Our Hogwarts is a prestigious school with a thousand-year history, yet we're afraid to go to Newmontgard for an exchange program?"

Neville nodded, then hesitated before saying, "That's true, but Sean went too far—and didn't he also include us in his insults?"

"Don't joke around. When I came down from my duel, Sean even gave me a thumbs-up."

Apart from the few who had just fought on stage, the rest of the students felt offended—however, ' Sean Sunflower ' Daisy was looking at the boys on stage with shining eyes.

"Sean looks a little bit more handsome than Harry..." Little White Flower muttered happily to herself.

On the other side of the dueling platform, Hermione, who had just been ridiculed, was now completely ignored. All the hatred was focused on Sean, and the girl's face turned pale. She never expected that Sean would be so impulsive and arrogant.

Just as she was about to say something to defend Sean, what he said next made the girl freeze in place.

"Come on, duel me! Ha, let me think—the winner gets to go to Newmontgard, you know?" Sean grinned as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at an older student who stepped onto the dueling platform.

The older student paused for a moment, then became even more annoyed. He pointed his wand at Sean: "Wallerup, you must be punished for your rude remarks. Now, apologize to everyone."

Sean raised an eyebrow. "What if I refuse?"

"Then you'd better be prepared to get a beating..."

"Snake Summons Serpensortia!"

Before the person could finish speaking, Sean immediately recited the incantation.

Of course, it's the Sean- exclusive edition of Serpensortia.

Naja the Occamy suddenly unfurled her massive body, then coiled up, her pale purple feathers standing on end and swaying, assuming a terrifying attack stance.

The Great Hall stirred again, and everyone took a step back.

The boy who had just gone on stage trembled slightly. He wanted to cast a Petrification Charm, but in front of the Occamy, the courage he had just used to rebuke Sean had begun to dissipate.

Magical Creatures rated xxxx by the Ministry of Magic is not something a young wizard who hasn't even graduated yet can face head-on.

Professor Sprout tried to step forward to stop Sean, but Professor McGonagall, with a serious expression, stopped her.

"Hogwarts may need a drastic measure..." the Vice Principal thought to herself, choosing silence this time as she always followed the rules.

Naja's body swam, lifting Sean up so he could look down at the crowd.

"Does it look familiar?" Sean stroked the Occamy's dazzling scales, his attitude casual and relaxed. "However, the last time I summoned the Occamy, the person I dueled was a student of Newmontgard."

He looked down at the boy, who, despite being frightened, did not take a single step back.

"Excuse me, could you please tell me your name?"

"Zakari Shafiq." The boy raised his head, trying to keep his tone calm.

"Mr. Shafiq, may I ask you a question?" Before the other could answer, Sean continued, "Do you consider yourself trash?"

Shafiq's forehead vein throbbed. He was usually a short-tempered person, and what Sean said was a complete insult to him.

"Wallerup! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have a strange Summoning Charm and look down on everyone else. The honor of the Shafiq family will not tolerate any insult!"

Sean pursed his lips; the other party's reaction was too much... However, the Shafiq surname seems to belong to one of the Pure-blood families? It certainly has the air of Pure-blood families —valuing face.

He shook his head, then asked in a more serious tone, "Mr. Shafiq, you're getting too excited. I was asking you a question."

"Stop being so rude, Wallerup. I never thought you were this kind of person. You disgust me."

Sean shrugged and stroked Naja with an air of nonchalance.

"Since you've said that, can I take that as meaning you don't consider yourself trash?"

"That's nonsense!"

As soon as Shafiq finished speaking, the Occamy's body swelled even more amidst the gasps of the crowd. It hissed fiercely and thrust its huge beak forward.

In his haste, Shafiq cast a Petrification Charm, but Sean didn't even wave his wand—this weak Petrification Charm couldn't even petrify a single scale of Naja's.

"Hmm, Mr. Shafiq, it seems you're not a coward after all..." Sean laughed, but to others, his smile looked like a devil's grin.

This man's usual gentlemanly manners are all an act; he's just a Occamy who bullies others! Everyone else thought so.

Sean didn't care and stood up straight on the Occamy's huge body.

"Last semester, I dueled with a student from Newmontgard right here. Some of you might remember, I beat so-and-so, right?" Sean thought for a moment, resting his chin on his hand, then waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind, I don't remember... So, I'm puzzled, I'm confused, I'm baffled."

He stopped smiling and stared coldly at Shafiq: "Shafiq, last semester, those Newmontgard didn't dare to lay a hand on me, but just now, you cast a Petrification Charm on me."

Sean raised his chin, and the Occamy, in response, spread its wings and swayed its crest feathers.

How dare you?

As soon as he said that, the others in the audience started to make a fuss, cursing and accusing Sean of being arrogant and unreasonable.

Even Harry and his friends looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Um, Sean, isn't this a bit too much?"

On the field, Shafiq's face was a mix of pale and flushed, and the veins around his temples were bulging.

"Wallerup, you've gone too far!" His hands trembled slightly with anger, but his wand remained firmly pointed at Sean.

Sean stared at him, his signature smile returning. "Well then, I'll ask one last question. Since you dared to duel me, why didn't you come up to the dueling platform just now?"

"Why is it that none of the Newmontgard dare to oppose me, while you dare to cast spells?"

"Why—" His voice was deafening, making the students in the Great Hall panic, "Why are you all afraid to face Newmontgard!"

Sean looked at everyone, his eyes filled with incomprehension and regret. "At such a young age, don't you feel ashamed? Ha—wouldn't it be nice if word got out and the whole Wizarding World heard this?"

His voice grew louder and louder. "Hogwarts, a thousand-year-old prestigious school, one of the most famous School of Magic in the world, the best wizarding sanctuary in all of England! Its students, out of fear of students from a school with less than a hundred years of history, don't even have the courage to participate in a duel!"

"Spread your word quickly! Tell others that Hogwarts is afraid of Newmontgard, and the students are worried that a small Academic Exchange will make them lose face! They are afraid of being bullied on the turf of other schools! They dare not face failure, dare not admit their weakness, and even—they dare not become stronger."

"I will give each of you a medal when you graduate, with the words 'I am not as good as a student of Newmontgard ' written on it. Then I will tell the whole world that the people who wear this medal come from the great Hogwarts, and from their student days onwards, they will avoid anyone from Newmontgard!"

Sean raised his chin even higher, his voice becoming calmer. "Keep your medals safe. When your children enroll, don't forget to pass them on as 'family heirlooms,' and tell them that as long as they attend Hogwarts, they will always be inferior to the people of Newmontgard."

Off the field, many people's lips had already turned white, and their faces flashed with shame and anger.

The Sonorus Charm effect disappeared, but Sean's final, vicious words clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Admit it, you're trash. If you want to get rid of this, I've only thought of one way: transfer to Newmontgard. That way, you'll at least achieve a higher status among the trash—compared to Hogwarts."

Inside the Great Hall, all sound fell silent. The students clenched their fists, their eyes red as they stared at Sean.

Sean's vicious words pierced everyone's bones. They tried to refute him, but sadly discovered that he had done nothing; he was simply stating the facts.

Yes, they were scared.

Since the establishment of Newmontgard, the students from the other school have dominated Hogwarts in every aspect. During last year's Academic Exchange, although the two sides were constantly in conflict, it became clear upon reflection that Hogwarts students had all the advantages of timing and location, yet their entire school only managed to barely hold their own against a portion of the students sent by the other school.

Even more tragically, the few times they gained an advantage all came from this "outrageous" Sean Wallerup on stage.

A strong sense of shame filled everyone's hearts.

Then, a soft yet firm voice rang out.

"That's only temporary! We're not afraid of Newmontgard; we can become stronger! Then, we'll defeat them!"

Daisy waved her little fist and shouted loudly.

One stone stirs up a thousand waves. Teenagers are naturally impulsive and passionate, Sean's words were like turning that passion into gunpowder, while Daisy lit the fuse.

The first-year students all understood that shame leads to courage... The older students felt their faces burning, and the anger in their chests suddenly became unbearable.

"We're Hogwarts! What the hell is Newmontgard?!"

"Hogwarts only produces the world's best wizards; we'll always be the ones looking down on others!"

"Who wants to be inferior? I certainly never will!"

The Great Hall erupted in chaos, with everyone shouting angrily.

They were already at an age where they were very competitive. Sean's words were like Newmontgard pointing his finger at them and cursing them. Once their tempers flared up, who could hold back?

Suddenly, many students volunteered to go over to the professors, shouting things like, "I'm going to go over there and smash their heads in!"

Sean smiled with satisfaction. That's more like it. Getting scared before even competing is not the spirit a teenager should have.

He looked down at the audience, where Daisy seemed to be waiting for his gaze. As soon as Sean looked over, the girl gave him a sweet smile.

They worked together perfectly... and Daisy's little brain works really fast.

However, he now faces another problem—after calming down a bit, the students are all eyeing Sean with predatory intent.

After the beating, it's time to give out the sweet dates, but we need to be quick, or we'll get ganged up on...

Sean coughed, then put Naja back, his expression becoming solemn and gratified.

"Can anyone tell me the motto of Hogwarts?" Sean stood straight, one hand on his chest and the other behind his back.

The students who had gathered around paused, and Hermione, on the other side of the dueling platform, shouted, "Do Not Disturb the Sleeping Dragon!"

Everyone was stunned. They looked at Sean, whose eyes had become proud and confident. The way he looked at himself was like looking at a comrade who had come to his senses.

Could it be that Sean was trying to encourage us...? Yeah, he's not usually like this...

"Yes..." Sean took a deep breath and shouted at everyone, "Now, tell me, Hogwarts students, has the dragon sleeping within you awakened!"

Yes, Do Not Disturb the Sleeping Dragon... As members of Hogwarts, we are the most outstanding geniuses, and we are about to awaken.

A surge of passion rushed to everyone's heads, and they roared without thinking.

"Yes!"

"The slumbering dragon has awakened, and the world is about to tremble! Tell me, tell yourselves, tell this castle, tell Newmontgard, tell the whole world! What are you!"

"We are Hogwarts!"

The Great Hall ceiling, adorned with stars, was also trembling.